[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 70 (Friday, May 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE FEC REFORM AND AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1999

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 14, 1999

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we tend to take our elections for granted, 
only briefly focusing attention when there is a disputed outcome or, 
more recently, to bemoan the lack of voter participation. This 
unfortunate detachment by the voting public is the result of many 
different factors, one of which is the lack of confidence in our 
election process. It is long past the time for Congress to recognize 
the vital importance of our election process and the need to shore up 
and strengthen our democratic election system. We can start by 
reforming the Federal Election Commission (FEC). I am confident that we 
can give the Federal Election Commission the necessary mandate and 
direction to better carry out its responsibilities.
  As the ranking Democrat on the two House committees that directly 
oversee the Federal Election Commission, the House Administration 
Committee and the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government 
Appropriations Subcommittee, I feel a special responsibility to do 
everything I can to make sure this agency functions with maximum 
fairness and efficiency. As Congress prepares to wrestle with campaign 
finance reform, it is important to note that even the most promising 
reform is meaningless unless the FEC is able to carry it out. Hopeful 
that the 106th Congress will pass Shays-Meehan, I am determined to see 
that the FEC is equipped at the earliest practicable time to enforce 
both the letter and spirit of this much needed measure.
  To that end I am today introducing the FEC Reform and Authorization 
Act of 1999.
  This bill, which I think my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can 
support, does not propose radical changes at the FEC because, quite 
frankly, radical change is not needed. As my colleagues know, in 
January the respected firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers delivered to 
Congress the results of a $750,000 independent audit of the FEC that 
was ordered last year in the FY99 Treasury-Postal Appropriations Act. 
To many people's surprise, the audit concluded that the FEC is ``a 
competently managed organization with a skilled and motivated staff'' 
that executes its responsibilities ``without partisan basis.'' The 
audit also found that ``high ethical standards are espoused throughout 
the organization.''
  However, PricewaterhouseCoopers did recommend several common-sense 
actions that would improve the FEC's performance. ``The FEC's continued 
success will require that the agency aggressively pursue both 
incremental and significant changes in organization, work process, 
technology, and management practice,'' the report said.
  Several of these recommendations have since been formally endorsed by 
a majority of the FEC commissioners, making them truly bipartisan in 
nature. In addition, the FEC commissioners have themselves delivered to 
Congress a list of bipartisan recommendations, not explicitly included 
in the audit, that would help the agency do its job better.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill incoporates 29 recommendations that were 
either included in the audit and endorsed by the FEC, or were supported 
by a bipartisan majority of the FEC commission members. Together they 
will improve the efficiency and productivity of the FEC.
  Most of the recommendations included in this bill address such 
diverse areas as filing deadlines for campaign reports, eligibility 
rules for presidential campaign public financing, and FEC 
administrative procedures. Other can be regarded as more thorough 
campaign reform, like Section 201, which prohibits foreign nationals, 
who are now prohibited from making hard money contributions, from 
making soft money contributions as well.
  Each of these technical changes would fine-tune current FEC practices 
and clarify inconsistencies in current law that have confused FEC 
officials, contributors, and candidates alike who have had every 
intention of fairly obeying the law, but have not always been sure just 
what that law is. I firmly believe that when the underlying statutes 
are clear to all affected parties, administering and enforcing the law 
becomes a much more efficient, inexpensive, and straight-forward 
process.
  Mr. Speaker, I do, however, want to spotlight one of the centerpieces 
of my bill, electronic filing, which was the main audit recommendation 
and one of the first recommendations that all six FEC commissioners 
endorsed soon after the audit was released.
  Section 101 of this bill instructs the FEC to develop a 
comprehensive, mandatory electronic data filing system for the major 
filers. Mandatory electronic filing has been discussed for several 
years now. Unfortunately, no compelling case has been made for it. 
After studying the audit and hearing from the FEC, I am convinced that 
mandatory electronic filing is one of the most important changes we can 
make. Not only would electronic filing speed up the time it takes for 
campaign financial reports to be posted on the Web and made available 
to the public, it would also set off a chain reaction that would allow 
FEC auditors to analyze campaign reports much more quickly than they 
presently can. This in turn would allow them to forward much more 
quickly to the FEC General Counsel's office alleged violations of the 
law, giving the General Counsel more time to investigate cases before 
they go stale. In recent years, my Republican colleagues have sharply 
critized the General Counsel's office for its slow pace and tendency to 
dismiss too many cases. Electronic filing will provide the FEC with the 
tools necessary to expedite its business.
  While it is important to look for cost-effective ways to make the FEC 
more efficient, it is also crucial that the agency be given the funds 
needed to thoroughly conduct their business. This bill would authorize 
the FEC budget at $38,516,000 which is identical to the President's 
budget request. This is $2 million more than the FEC's FY99 budget, a 5 
percent increase.
  Let me conclude by saying that Congress has not passed an FEC 
authorization bill in 19 years. There are many reasons for this, 
chiefly an absence of a coherent blueprint that both parties could 
accept. I regard the independent audit, and this legislation which I am 
introducing today, as that blueprint for bipartisan action and urge my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.




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